DeVos Wants To Cut Funding For Special Olympics: I Have Some Thoughts
As many of you know, I have been working closely with Special Olympics for over five years now. Yesterday it was announced that Betsy DeVos wants to eliminate Federal funding for Special Olympics while seeking additional funding for charter schools. After a day of consideration, I'd like to address that now.
A Brief History
When we founded American Bocce, our mission was to create a mass market appeal to the sport of bocce ball. We believed that through mobilizing, popularizing, and providing an inclusive approach to the sport, we could blow the doors off of this thing, and put it in front of people all over the world.
While we aimed to disrupt stigmas of exclusivity attached to bocce ball (and regionally comparable sports) we quickly came to realize that far and away the largest organization of bocce participation in the world was Special Olympics.
Fate would have it that just as we were looking for a portable solution for bocce ball courts, so was Special Olympics, and we both found Peter Roberts and Packaworld at the same time. Since 2014, Packaworld, American Bocce, and Special Olympics have formed a professional and personal bond that is shaping the course of history for our sport.
Immediate Reactions
So, I like you, woke up yesterday morning finding out that Betsy DeVos had proposed to eliminate funding for Special Olympics. Twitter was in an outrage.
Members of the American Bocce community reached out. What did this mean for us? For my job? For the federal grants that we are dependent on in order to increase participation in the sport of bocce?
I waited to respond. I didn’t want to come to a foregone conclusion forced by a knee-jerk Twitter-storm. I read articles from both sides. I read Betsy DeVos response. I listened to Tim Shriver’s careful toe the line.
Betsy responded in an outrage, reaching into that old ‘fake news’ well of calling the media’s reporting of the facts unacceptable and shameful.
But here’s what remains:
1. Special Olympics had been allocating the Federal funding to build Unified Schools. You take the money away, you take the schools away. Or at least halt their development.
2. Anytime you pull the rug out on 1/8th of a company’s revenue, it’s going to put them in a very tough spot.
3. Betsy insisted that the money could be made up by means of philanthropy, but the foundation of Special Olympics is already supported by constant philanthropy and volunteering efforts. The Federal funding went towards one facet of Special Olympics, the philanthropy goes towards the continuous uphill battle of protecting people with intellectual disabilities from discrimination and alienation.
4. Betsy also argued that the Special Olympics is a private organization and shouldn’t rely on Federal funding. Federal funding goes to private organizations all of the time, most of which don’t hold a candle to the humanitarian efforts that Special Olympics provides. You can’t pick and choose when to use this argument.
5. And just kind of a final fuck you, Betsy. You only ever refer to Special Olympics athletes as children (not just in accordance to schools). 2 million of the over-5 million Special Olympics athletes are 22 years or older and there is no upper-age-limit on athletes. If you’re going to steal from men and women, at least give them the respect of addressing them as men and women.
What Can We Do?
Contact You Members of Congress
If you don’t support the proposed cut in funding, start by simply logging onto www.specialolympics.com . You will immediately be greeted with a call to action with the words “We Need Your Support!” across the top. They have templated out a letter for you to send to members of your Congress.
Volunteer
Regardless of how this plays out, we always need volunteers. In Chicago, we have three great opportunities to work with Special Olympics and bocce this year. On June 7 - June 9 we will be supervising bocce in Bloomington / Normal for the Illinois State Summer Games and for two weekends (TBD) in September we will supervising bocce tournaments in Chicago and Northlake.
Talk To Us
We’re passionate. We’re motivated. Keep the conversation going and we promise you we will take action.